A Day in the Life of an Avenger
by natasharomanoff52
Summary: Various post-battle kind of one-shots (they sorta go together, haha) of the whole team! Some Clintasha/BlackEye fluff definitely included, there won't be any Stony! Sorry to those who like that, I'm am not a shipper of those two! P.S. In the first few, Thor is still in Asgard, so that is why he isn't included. Enjoy! :D
1. Breakfast in Stark Tower

Steve sat down at the modern white island in the middle of the kitchen with that morning's newspaper and a mug of coffee. The coffee looked like it might not be too great, but he couldn't figure out how on earth the dang "Keurig" coffee maker worked. Tony had shown it to him once, showing how all you did was pour in a cup of water, stick in this small plastic cup, and press a button, but it still didn't make sense to him. He opened the paper up and started reading while sipping the steaming coffee. Not before too long, Tony shuffled into the kitchen yawning and stretching his arms into the air.

"Mornin', Cap." He opened up the refrigerator and slid a few things around until he found what he wanted- a carton of milk.

Steve replied with a curt nod of his head and said, "Stark." He returned to his reading of the paper.

"Anything good?" Tony asked, mouth full of the cereal he had just poured.

"Not really. Just fatality totals and the sum of money the city is going to have to pay to repair all the damage done from the battle. We made the front page." Steve said, turning around the paper to show Tony the picture of all of the Avengers in the middle of the rubble.

Tony snatched the paper from Steve's grasp and looked at it in confusion. Turning towards Steve he exclaimed, "How on earth do they even get these photos? I think if I was a normal person in New York at that time, I would have been trying to get the hell out of there, not pulling out my camera for a snapshot." He rolled his eyes at the thought of some tourist running through the streets with a digital camera to get a snapshot of The Avengers to show off to their friends when they returned home.

Steve just shrugged his shoulders and grabbed the paper back, turning to the next page and reading on. Tony went to the sink to put his empty cereal bowl in the sink. Natasha walked in and in a surprisingly good mood said, "Goooood morning, gentlemen." Tony replied with a quick, "Morning" and left the kitchen. Steve looked up to reply and choked on the coffee he was gulping down at the moment. Natasha was in a bright purple sports bra, short black spandex shorts, and striped fuzzy socks. He was shocked that she would be seen so scantily dressed! Dames definitely didn't dress like that from the time he came from. "_You aren't in that time anymore though, Steve. This isn't the forties anymore. This is 2012."_ He thought. After regaining control of his voice from his choking fit, he meekly replied, "G'morning, Miss Romanoff."

Natasha was searching for something to eat in the refrigerator and acted like she hadn't noticed Steve stifling his shock at her apparel. She pushed things around in the fridge for a bit before finally settling for a premade smoothie. Turning from the fridge she went to the sleek white cabinets on the other wall and pulled out a tall glass. She shook up the smoothie and tried not to act like she knew Steve was still staring at her is disbelief while pouring it into the glass. "_Well the guy has to get used to 2012 sometime. I might as well help him along." _Natasha thought to herself. She went over to the tall stool next to the Captain and sat down pulling her legs up and balancing cross-legged on the squishy cushion. Sipping a bit of smoothie, she looked over to Steve. He was intently staring at the newspaper and avoiding looking at her. "Rogers, you're obviously not reading. Your eyes have been staring at the same headline for the past 10 seconds."

Steve quickly blushed, a light pink hue showing up in his cheeks. He looked up at her and said, Sorry. I-I'm just not used to all of…" He paused. She raised her eyebrow. "…this." He said, motioning to her clothes.

She tried to stifle her laughter caused from the perplexed expression on his face. "It's just gonna take time, Steve."

_Steve. _She hadn't ever called him Steve before. _"Stop it! Stop it, Steve. She doesn't like you. She likes Barton." _He reprimanded himself and shook his head, looking away. She just reminded him of Peggy so much. He couldn't help but have some sort of feelings for her.

Natasha took another gulp of smoothie and sat the glass down. Clint walked in, rubbing his eyes. "Hey, guys."

Steve noticed the immediate change in Natasha's body language the moment Clint walked into the room. It seemed to immediately perk up.

Natasha laughed lightly at Clint's drowsy disposition, "Tough night?"

"Couldn't sleep. At all." Clint sighed.

Steve folded up his paper and put his empty coffee mug in the sink. "I'm headed down to the training center. See ya." He left before Natasha or Clint could say any goodbyes.

"What's up with him?" Clint asked.

Natasha had an idea, but instead just shrugged. "I don't know."

She swallowed the last bit of her smoothie and hopped up from the bar stool. She made her way over to Clint with a little bounce in her step. He was over at the stove scrambling some eggs. She came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her face into his strong, sculpted back. He smiled at her embrace and turned from his work to kiss her lightly on the forehead. "You're in a rather jovial mood this morning, Tash." She shrugged and let him go a pushed off of the floor so that she was seated on the counter of the island parallel to him. He returned to his work, turning off the burner and scooping the eggs onto a plate. He sat them down on the counter next to her and leaned against it, scooping up a heaping spoonful into his mouth.

"You're a pig, Barton." She teased, laughing.

"Whaaaat?" He said, mouth full of half-chewed eggs.

She gave him a you're-kidding-right? look and elbowed him in the arm. He swallowed and scooted over to her, wrapping his arms around her back and closing the space between their faces. He kissed her and she wrapped her legs around him, deepening the kiss. Her hands slid into his short cropped hair on the back of his head.

"Eh-hem." Someone fake coughed. Natasha and Clint quickly tore apart, both turning red at being caught in the act. It was Bruce. He just stood there awkwardly for a moment before finding the right workds. "I, uh, didn't want to...to interrupt, I'm just really hungry…"

"It's fine, Banner. Just…don't tell Stark, ok?"

"Of course, of course!" He replied, not wanting to think about what the two master assassins looking at him at the moment would do to him if he told…

"I'm…gonna go get dressed…" Natasha said, leaping gracefully off the counter and exiting the kitchen.

Once he was sure she was out of hearing range, Bruce asked, "So…you and Natasha, huh?" while putting some toast into the toaster.

Clint just nodded and smirked, the pink finally fading from his scruffy cheeks.

"Sorry to leave you alone, but I'm headed to the archery range. I'll see you later, Bruce."

"That's fine, I'm used to it…" Bruce mumbled as Clint left the kitchen. He sat down with his toast and opened the paper up just in time to here and huge crash and "**STARK!**" exclaimed by an angry voice. He sighed, thinking, "_Well living here is at least better than living in Calcutta…"_


	2. Movie Night

**Author's Note:  
****Ahhh! Thank you all so much for the reviews and adding my story to you guys' story alerts! That just maaade my day- gosh, it made my _month! _I was having writer's block or something and couldn't come up with an idea that was very good so this isn't, in my opinion anyway, my best writing, but here's Chapter 2 two. (: If anyone has ideas for me to write, please let me know! Also, Stark might seem a little OOC to some people, but I always feel like people just see him as a arrogant butt, but in my opinion he is still a human and has feelings just like everyone else- though he would never admit it. ;) Thanks and enjoy! :D**

* * *

All of the members of the Avengers picked up their cell phones (Steve fiddling with his perplexing "cell phone" to get it "unlocked" ["_How do you even lock a phone?"_] a little longer than the others) to check the text they had all received .

**From: Tony Stark**

**AVENGERS, ASSEMBLE!**

**MOOOOVVIIIEEE NIIIIIGGGHHHTT!**

**If you're not here I'll hunt you down **

**& drag you here! BE THERE AT 7PM **

**SHARP.**

Natasha scoffed. _"Like I have time to just drop everything and watch a movie."_

Bruce smiled. _"I've never been able to have friends before. I guess this is what it's like. I'll definitely be there."_

Clint was reluctant. _"Who knows what movie Stark will choose… I guess I'll just find out if Nat is going and go from there."_

Steve was disinterested but open-minded. _"I suppose I should get used to the technology today. This would be a good way to do it."_

They all put away their cell phones and went back to what they were doing before Tony's text had sidetracked them.

* * *

Tony sat in the movie room waiting for the rest of the team to show up. He had chosen a movie he thought they would all enjoy- Pirates of the Caribbean- and already put in into the DVD player and set up the projector. It would display the movie on the big, white wall parallel to it. He had J.A.R.V.I.S. get the popcorn popper going. He sat there in the big, red, plush movie theater seats (which were much more comfortable than the movie theater seats at an actual movie theater) listening to the sound of the kernels bursting open with a "pop!" and checking his watch frequently. _6:59. 7:01. 7:03_. He started to be discouraged, thinking that maybe no one would show up. He really just wanted them to all…well he didn't know. Bond? He supposed that was the right word. He started to get up when he heard the sounds of someone walking down the hallway. He turned to see Steve walk in, looking a bit flustered.

"Sorry I'm late. Long story."

"It's all good, Capsicle!" Tony replied happily.

Steve scowled at the name, but then came and sat next to Tony. "No one else has showed up yet?"

"Nope. I guess they have better things to do or something…"

"Oh, I know Bruce had wanted to come… Maybe he just got caught up in the lab…"

Right as Steve said this, Bruce ran into the theater and stopped, panting. "I'm so sorry! I lost track of time… You know how that goes." Looking at the amused faces of Steve and Tony, Bruce's face turned to a puzzled expression. "What's so funny?"

"Either you are really predictable or Steve is a psychic." Tony laughed.

Still looking somewhat confused, Bruce sat down on the other side of Tony. He changed the subject. "Where's Clint and Natasha?"

"Oh, I don't know. Probably making out in a closet somewhere." Tony joked. Steve blushed at the thought and Bruce chuckled, knowing things that Tony didn't.

"Aw, come on Cappy! You really gonna blush over any mention of _kissing_?" Tony teased, making kissy faces and coming towards Steve.

Alarmed, Steve scooted away from Tony and pushed him away. "Tony, what the hell? Stop!"

Right at that moment Clint and Natasha walked in. Natasha jokingly said, "Um. Do we need to leave? I don't want to interrupt anything."

Tony stopped, laughing. Steve blushed and looked at the floor. Bruce just laughed lightly and shook his head. _"We're all so messed up." _He thought.

"What were _you_ _two_ up to, huh? You're 15 minutes late and then both happen to just walk in at the same time? I say that's pretty scandalous." Tony said, raising an eyebrow.

Natasha leaned over and said, "Well that's none of your business now is it, Stark?" and patted him a little harder than needed on his scruffy cheek, smirking. There was mischief shining in her green eyes. She sat down next to Steve, Clint sitting on her other side. "Where's Pepper?" She asked Tony.

"Busy. Anyway, this is an Avengers-only movie night. We're supposed to bond or whatever." Tony said jokingly.

Natasha nodded, smiling at the thought of what would happen if Tony actually said that to Pepper. That result wouldn't be good.

"Are we ever going to actually start a movie, or are you and Nat going to just bicker back and forth the whole night?" Clint asked teasingly. Natasha made a shocked face and punched him in the arm. "Hey now, hey now! I'm just stating the truth!" Clint said, laughing at Natasha's reaction.

"Oh, fine." Tony stood up, facing the rest of the team. "Good evening ladies- uh, lady and gentlemen. Tonight's showing will be of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. There will be no smoking or drinking allowed in the theater. I take that back, you can drink all you want, just no smoking- you can't ever get that smell out of these seats… Anyway! There's popcorn located at the back of the theater to your left and drinks in the fridge located next to the popcorn. No phones allowed. Turn your ringer off…blah, blah, blah. Enjoy your movie!" Tony said, sitting back down. "Jarvis, play the movie!"

Steve was very aware of Natasha's presence so near to him and then the movie started. The blank wall was filled with moving pictures of pirates, sword fighting, and skeletons… He completely forgot everything to do with the real world and glued his eyes the moving pictures.

Tony looked over to Steve to see the expression on his face. Steve looked like he was a five-year-old in Disney World. His eyes were wide open and he was slightly gaping at the screen. Tony chuckled inwardly. He looked past Steve to see Clint and Natasha. They were holding hands and she had her legs crisscrossed on the seat and her head leaning on Clint's shoulder. He couldn't help but wish Pepper was there so he could be doing to same. He liked to feel the warmth of her beside him, their fingers intertwined. He pushed the thought out of his mind because he didn't want to be pitiful. He looked to Bruce on his other side. His head kept slowly drooping and suddenly snap back up, his eyes open wide. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. _"He really needs to get some sleep. I wonder what he's been working on so hard in the lab. I hope he's not still trying to find a cure…" _Tony let his mind wander, zoning out for a moment before coming back to reality and watching the movie.

* * *

Once the movie was over, the lights slowly came up. Tony looked to his right to see Bruce passed out in the chair next to his, mouth open wide. He was snoring lightly. Tony thought about waking him and then thought better of it. He didn't need a green, rage monster wrecking his movie room. He turned to Steve on his left. Steve's eyes were still glued to the screen. Tony poked him in the arm. Steve jumped and snapped his head to the side to look at Tony. "Enjoy the movie, Cap?"

"Are you kidding me? That was fantastic! How…how do they do all of that? It was in color! And the skeleton people looked so real! Were they real?" His eyes were still wide open, twinkling with delight and there was a huge grin spread across his face.

Tony chuckled. "I'll explain it to you later." Steve looked excited about learning about how it all worked. "I might need to get a slideshow set up so you actually know what I'm talking about though." Steve's expression changed.

"Oh." He looked down.

"It's ok, Steve. You'll get used to it all soon. It'll just take time." Tony said, patting Steve on the arm. He looked past Steve to the couple sitting beside him. Clint and Natasha seemed to be speaking another language quietly.

"Do you have a secret to share with the whole class, children?" Tony asked.

"нет." They both replied in unison, smiles on their faces.

Tony raised his eyebrow but let it slide. Everyone stood up, except Bruce who was now snoring quite loudly.

"Should we just leave him here?" Steve asked.

"I guess. He needs the sleep and I definitely don't want to wake him. I wonder if an alarm clock has ever made him Hulk-up…" Tony said, letting his mind wander.

Natasha shivered. She had experienced the Hulk before. She wasn't a person to be scared, but she had been terrified. He'd have killed her if it wasn't for Thor saving her. Clint saw the change in her body language and put a hand on the small of her back. She turned to look at him and saw him looking down at her with a concerned expression on his face. She shrugged it off and changed the subject. "Well I guess it's off to bed for everyone?"

"What? Now is when the after party starts!" Tony yelled, making Bruce snort and turn to his side. Steve, Natasha, and Clint all looked at Tony with questioning looks.

"What?" Tony asked.

Natasha replied, "It's ten o'clock and I'm exhausted. I want to go to sleep. I just got back from a mission yesterday and it took a lot out of me. I need a bubble bath." Tony had a bemused expression on his face.

"A master assassin in need of a _bubble bath?_" He asked, laughing.

"I could kill you in so many ways you couldn't even count them, Stark, but I'm still a woman. Goodnight." She said, turning on her heel, kissing Clint on the cheek, and exiting.

"You're not going to go join her, Cupid?" Tony teased Clint.

"Call me Cupid one more time and you're going to be pushed out of the top window of this tower, Stark. No suit. Oops."

"Oooh! Legolas fights back." Tony said, eyes open wide in a mock surprised face.

Rolling his eyes, Clint answered, "Can it, Stark. Night, guys." He left too.

"You gonna stay for drinks?" Tony asked Steve.

"C'mon, Stark, you know that does nothing to me. My body burns it off immediately."

"More of a reason for you to stay! You can drink all night!"

"Nah, sorry. I gotta sleep. I haven't slept in a week."

"Oh, fine. Y'all are party poopers." Tony pouted.

"Goodnight, Stark." Steve said with a light chuckle and then headed out the door.

"Looks like it's just you and me, Brucey." Tony said, looking over to the snoring man beside him. "You're really the life of the party, aren't you?"

* * *

**A/N: I Google translated Russian for "no" so if it's wrong, please don't hate me. xD**


	3. Fury's Mission for Natasha

**Author's Note:**

**Firstly, thank you all SO MUCH for your amazing reviews and adding this story and me to your favorites and alert lists! You have no idea how much that means to me!**

**Secondly, I am so incredibly sorry this took me so long to update, I was so busy with finishing up school and then got sick (to the point where I literally did nothing but lay on the couch and watch movies all day) so it took me awhile to get this written! I haven't quite finished this chapter yet, but I figured I'd just split it into two parts so I could at least get something up! I should have on the second part by Thursday at the latest, as it is already half to three-fourths written. Thank you all for reading and enjoy! (:**

* * *

Fury called in for Natasha. Wondering what new mission she was going to be sent for, she leaped off of one of Tony's very expensive crotch rockets she had borrowed (she went for the red and black one) and walked into headquarters and down to meet Fury.

"Sit down, Agent Romanoff." Nick Fury gestured to the empty seat across the table from him. Natasha sat down in the familiar rolling chair with ease and grace.

"I need to talk to you about something, Agent."

Unease grew in the pit of her stomach. Had he found out about her and Clint? They weren't really an..."item" or whatever you would call it, but they definitely had something. And it was completely against protocol.

Seeing the carefully masked face of one of his best agents, Fury explained further. "You see, Agent, I have a dilemma."

_"Here it comes."_ thought Natasha, though she kept her face completely emotionless.

"I feel that the Avengers aren't spending enough time together, especially now that Thor is back from Asgard. He missed out on time to- oh, _bond_, I guess would be the right word there- while he was taking care of all that Loki business in Asgard. I need you all to work well as a team if- and most likely, when- the world needs you again. "

It was a bit of a shock to her, as she was expecting the worst. Fury continued.

"You won't be able to work as well together if you don't know each other well. You see my problem?"

"Yes, sir. I understand. I just-" Natasha struggled to find the right words to explain her thoughts without infuriating Fury (pun intended). "You see, I don't know what more we can do. We, well, we already live together, sir."

"I know that, Agent Romanoff. The issue is that you all rarely see each other. Stark Tower is very immense and you can avoid people you don't want to see effortlessly. I need you all to spend more time together. Actually speaking to each other. I asked to talk to you because you are the most responsible of the team. I knew that you would make it happen."

Natasha took in his information. It was all very true. Although they lived together, they did rarely speak to each other. They saw each other at mealtimes, but they all got their food and left. An idea popped into Natasha's mind.

"I understand, Director. In fact, I have an idea that I believe will help the situation."

"Thank you, Agent Romanoff. I understand that you will begin immediately?"

"Of course, Director. Right away." A sly smile spread across Natasha's plump, pink lips.

Fury nodded and Natasha left the long, gray room. She thought of her team's reaction to her plan while she slid the black helmet over her curly, red locks and straddled the leather seat of the bike. Ah, they were gonna love this...

* * *

"What?" Tony exclaimed. "I haven't got time for that!"

"Fury said we need to spend more time together. It won't take up that much time. If you have problem, you can take it up with the Director." Natasha said, knowing Tony was slightly scared of Fury.

"Um, I don't think I need to talk to Ol' Patchy. I suppose it won't take up too much time. I guess I'm in."

"I like the idea." Said Steve, who had been rather quiet the whole night.

Everyone turned to look at him, almost having forgotten he was there in his silence.

"What?" Steve blushed with all the eyes on him.

"I agree with Steve, Son of Rogers! I haven't gotten to see all of my friends here since I returned from Asgard!" Thor roared.

"Guess I'm in, Nat." Clint mumbled while fiddling with an arrow in his burly hands.

Natasha smiled at her gaining triumph. "Bruce?"

"Oh, uh, yeah! Sure!" He said, being awakened by a shove in the arm from Tony.

"Alright then. We'll start tonight. Five o'clock." Natasha said with a triumphant smile.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED… ;)**


	4. Dinner for Six

**Author's Note:**

**Hellooooo! Sorry, I said I would get this on yesterday and then I didn't have access to the computer! Anyway, here is the second part of Chapter 3! :D Please review, review, review! (:**

* * *

Natasha sat on the bar stool reading the recipes in front or her. Gosh, she only cooked out of necessity, and now she had come up with the proposition that the Avengers make and eat a sit-down dinner together every night. What on earth had she gotten herself into?

"The party has arrived!" Tony yelled as he walked in clutching an open bottle of vodka in one hand.

"Oh my dear Lord, Stark. The vodka is supposed to be for the recipe. And now you've gone and... contaminated it."

"Aww, come on, Taaaaaaash." Tony whined into her ear, slinging his arm around her shoulders. In a split second, Tony was lying face down on the floor with his arm twisted behind his back while Natasha straddled his back. She leaned down and talked low into his ear.

"Firstly, NEVER call me 'Tash'. Secondly, never, EVER get that close to me. Got it, pumpkin?"

"Yesh." Tony slurred against the cold marble floor.

Natasha got up, letting go of Tony's arm. She stood and watched as he stumbled over himself as he tried to rise to his feet. Clint walked in and sat down on one of the bar stools next to the place Natasha stood.

"What he do this time?" He asked nonchalantly while picking up the recipes Natasha had chosen.

"Hung on me drunkenly and called me 'Tash'." She answered.

"Why doesn't that happen to me when I call you that?" He teased her.

Her neatly composed façade shattered as she blushed a light pink. "Shut up, Clint. You know why. You're...you're different."

Clint smiled. He liked hearing his name said in her voice. Even if it was telling him to "shut up". He did kind of deserve that one anyway.

Tony finally regained his balance and looked to the couple in front of him.

Tony smirked and started sloppily singing, "Clint and Natasha sittin' in a tree! K-I-S-S-"

He didn't even make it through the word before he was knocked out and seated in the plush chair facing the kitchen. That's what he got for provoking two master assassins.

Bruce walked in, surprisingly energetic, as he was usually tired from late hours in the lab. He glanced over at the unconscious Tony Stark in the chair across the room and then to Clint and Natasha. He didn't even ask.

"So what are we making?"

"POP TARTS?" Thor bellowed, walking into the kitchen. "AND COFFEE?" he asked hopefully.

"Um, no, Thor. I found a couple recipes online. Does-" Natasha paused, picking up the recipes she had printed off. "Vodka-Lime Chicken and roasted asparagus and broccoli sound good?"

"That sounds delicious!" everyone responded, including Steve who had walked in as she read off the menu for the night.

"Well then, we had better get started." she said with an I-guess-I-can't-get-out-of-this-now huff. She headed to the refrigerator and pantry and retrieved the ingredients they needed for the recipes. She laid it out on the counter and looked to the men surrounding her just standing there. "Well? Some help?"

Steve was the first to reply. "Um, what do you want us to do?"

"Oh, I guess that could be helpful. Wellllll-" Natasha said, scanning through the recipe. "Steve, how about you wash the chicken and pat it dry with paper towels. Just rinse it with some water I guess. Uh, Bruce, cut two lemons and two limes and juice them. Keep the rinds. It says to 'install them into the cavity of the chicken'.".

"You mean we have to shove some lemon and lime rinds up the ass of a dead, beheaded, plucked chicken?" Clint asked, looking a bit disgusted.

"Yes, Clint. That's exactly what we have to do." Natasha answered with an annoyed sigh. "In fact, how about you do that?" She said with an arched eyebrow and sly smirk. He gave her the "evil eye" and stalked off to where Bruce was busily juicing the lemons and limes. "Ok, so Thor, you can chop up this cilantro. Do you, um, do you know how to do that?"

"I will try with my hardest effort!" He said with a cheery attitude. She sent him off with a cutting board, knife, and handful of fresh cilantro. She went over and pried the vodka bottle from Tony's hand, which was still clutching it even in his still unconscious state. She went over and preheated the oven and checked the recipe to see what was next.

Looking up from the papers she said, "Ok, so we need to-"

She stopped speaking from shock of what was before her. Thor had green leaves in his wavy, blonde hair and was chopping the cilantro with such intensity that it was flying into the air and the table was being chopped up with it. Bruce had the chicken by the wings and was making it do a dance on the polished white counter. Her mouth agape, she looked to Clint who was smiling, but instead of his perfect, white teeth showing up, a lemon rind filled his mouth. Steve just stood there laughing, watching the spectacle.

"What- what on earth are you all doing?" Natasha exclaimed. Seeing all of the burly superheroes around her instantly stop at the sound of her voice and freeze in what they were doing, she couldn't help but burst out in a fit of laughter herself. When she finally regained her composure, she said, "Oh what are you all doing? Get back to work!" with a slight laugh in her command. "Except you, Clint." she said, pointing to the archer. "Throw away that rind right now. There is no way that is going in my food now." she said laughing. He walked up to her and spoke with the rind still in his mouth, snaking an arm around her small waist. "Aphraid I ghot coohties?" he asked with a suave look.

She laughed and replied teasingly, "No, but you do have geeerms." while snubbing her nose at him.

"Oh, fine." he said, throwing away the rind. "You win." He winked at her.

"Ok, guys, back to business!" She turned to her team, the rest of whom seemed tickled at the spectacle of her and Clint that they had just watched. Except Steve, who wasn't looking, most likely to hide his embarrassment.

"Are those lemons and limes done?"

"Yes, sir!" Bruce replied, jokingly throwing up a mock salute. "Oh, uh, I mean- ma'am!" he caught himself.

Natasha laughed and looked to Thor, who was now covered in chopped up green leaves. "How about you, Thor? Is the cilantro chopped up?"

"Yes! I made a slight mess, but it is completed!" he replied.

"Alright, so Clint, this is where you get to shove the rinds and cilantro 'up the chicken's ass', as you put it before." she said with a devious smile. Clint made a disgusted face, but proceeded to do as he was told.

Once the chicken was filled with the rinds and cilantro, they placed it in a class baking dish and poured the lemon and lime juices over it and then added the vodka. It was then placed in the oven.

"All right, guys. So now while that's cooking, we make the asparagus and broccoli." She flipped to the next page, scanning the recipe.

"Ok, so we need to wash the veggies, cut up the broccoli into smaller chunks, and cut off the woody ends of the asparagus. Anyone volunteer to wash 'em?"

After a bit of silence, Steve offered his services.

"Great!" She picked up the vegetables and handed them to the blonde-haired man. He went to the sink and began to wash them while Natasha got out another cutting board and knife. She went over to where Steve was washing and took the broccoli that was already washed. She turned and addressed the rest of the team.

"Alright, so I'll cut up the broccoli and then… Bruce, will you take care of the asparagus once Steve is done with it?"

Bruce nodded in assent. "And Clint, would you get out the big sauté pan and the olive oil and start heating it up?"

Clint replied, "Sure." and went to find it.

Natasha set to work on the broccoli. Soon, Bruce was done with the asparagus and she had finished the broccoli. They placed them in the hot pan and stirred in a little salt and pepper. It sizzled and popped for a while and the team stayed in silence until it was suddenly broken by a yell.

"!"

Tony had woken up. He shot up out of the seat swinging his arms while screaming. Bruce tried to calm him down while saying "Woooooah, Tony" and pushing his palms towards the ground. Tony calmed down and just stared at the rest of the team that were currently staring back at him. There was complete silence except for the sizzling of the vegetables in the pan until the oven timer went off with a couple loud "BEEP"s that made the team jump. Natasha finally spoke.

"Dinner's ready."

Everyone started laughing heavily. They got plates and silverware out from the shiny, white cabinets and laid them out on the table. Bruce got the chicken out of the oven and sat the dish on the hot pad on the table. Steve scooped the vegetables out of the sizzling pan and deposited them on a large plate and then onto the table.

"Alright, guys. I believe we're done!" Natasha pronounced excitedly. Her announcement was received by some very hungry men, so they responded with a big, "YEEEAAAHHHH!"

The team sat down and had a delicious meal combined with some very good conversation and lots of laughter. Once they finished dinner Thor asked, "What is for dinner tomorrow night?"


	5. Mission Synopsis

**Author's Note:**

**I'm a terrible person and I'm sorry to all of you who I've kept waiting for sooo long! I really have no excuse except my utter lack of motivation to write. I'm sorry! Here's a short peek before I get the new chapter up! (:**

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Nick Fury sat at the long table in HQ reading a mission synopsis from Natasha.

"...in conclusion, the mission is failing. The team is getting too busy and we aren't having the time to make dinner anymore. What are the new orders? We need a change. ASAP."

Fury sighed. He had no idea how to reply.


	6. A Trivial Matter (Abundant Comfort)

**Author's Note:**

**So here it finally is! As always, let me know any opinions! Constructive criticism, please. (: Also, is this becoming too much of a Clintasha fic? Truthfully. I'm sorry if it is, I just really like writing about them and it just flows easily, haha! Let me know though! If it is, I'll work on that. Review and let me know how I'm doing, or any ideas you have for me to write about (pretty please. I'm starting to run out.) as I always want to please my readers! :D**

**P.S. Thank you to discordchick for giving me the idea for the trivia night!**

* * *

In a large living room in Stark Tower a group of extremely skilled superheroes sat together. Thor and Bruce had plopped down on a large, leather couch together, Clint and Natasha were sitting rather close on a love seat adjacent to the couch, Tony was situated in the big La-Z-boy recliner, and Steve sat on the mod, black ledge in front of the fireplace.

"Alright, Steve. You never understand what we're talking about, so we're going to have a trivia night for you."

"I really don't think that's necessary, ma'am. I'm getting the hang of things. It's just taking time."

"No. Steve. This will just help you understand everything quicker! And this will help out Thor too." Natasha leaned forward and grabbed all of the trivia questions without waiting for a response from the Captain. "Alright, guys. So this isn't just Steve talking the whole time, we're all gonna play! So practically, we have this stack of cards with questions about tons of stuff on them and we'll just take turns asking them. I'll go first." She picked the first card off of the stack. "Ok. So, Clint, you answer first. Your question is, 'Who is JLo?' Oh, come on. That's so simple." She rolled her eyes and looked to Clint for his answer.

"Uhhhh. I know this. Umm. J-J... Jeeeeennifer? Jennifer something, right?"

Natasha gave Clint a look that easily showed her thought of "how on earth could you be so stupid".

"Really? Oh, come on. You're a guy. You have to know what a JLo booty is."

"Oh! Jennifer Lopez!" Clint quickly answered. Natasha raised her eyebrow.

"Really? You- oh, never mind. Yes. Ok, now you ask Steve." She handed him the stack of cards.

"Oh, alright. Uh." He picked up the first card. "'What is a credit card?'" He looked to Steve for his answer.

Steve looked at Clint and proudly answered, "It's a card that has money on it! You use it to pay for things nowadays."

"Yep. Alright, Rogers. Here ya go." He passed him the stack.

"Ok, um. Alright, Thor. 'How do you copy and paste and on what devices do you use the copy and paste tools?'"

Thor looked to Steve with a proud, all-knowing face. "You use that with paper! You copy what someone else already has made and then paste is used when you glue something!" He smiled cockily.

Natasha, Clint, Tony, and Bruce busted out in laughter. Thor looked confused. Steve looked to the card for the answer.

"Um, not quite Thor. It says here 'You use the copy and paste tools on a computer and most electronic devices. You copy by highlighting the text that you want to copy and right clicking in the highlighted area. Then you left click 'Copy'. You then paste it to the place where you want to copy it to by left clicking in the area you want it and right clicking on 'Paste'."

"Oh. Well I have just expanded my knowledge!" Thor exclaimed happily. "Now it's my turn to ask!" He grabbed the stack from Steve and said, "My friend, Bruce, your question is, 'If you buy an 'Apple Product' what are you purchasing?'"

Bruce sighed and easily answered, "Any electronic device really. Computer, iPod, iPad... et cetera. Alright. Hand me the cards."

"WAIT. I MUST CHECK YOUR ANSWER." Thor exclaimed as Bruce reached for the stack of cards. "YES. You are correct!"

Bruce didn't look surprised. He took the cards out of Thor's hand and pulled out the top one. "Tony, 'Who is Justin Bieber?'"

Tony answered, "A little twat that makes music and sounds like a 12 year old girl."

"Good enough." Bruce handed the stack to Tony.

"Alllllrighty, woman." He looked to Natasha with a smug look. Natasha sighed and rolled her eyes. "'What is acetylcholinesterase?'"

"That is not the question, you asshole. What's the real question?" Natasha answered.

"Oh, fine. Just be no fun. I was just trying to make it so this game wasn't so boring anymore. I'm falling asleep over here... It's actually, 'Who is the current President of the US?'"

"Barack Obama. Hand me the cards."

Natasha grabbed the cards from Tony and said, "Ummm, so let's change this up a bit. Clint, Bruce, Tony, and I will ask the questions and just Thor and Steve will answer, okay?"

The team agreed. Natasha asked, "'Who is Lady Gaga?'"

Thor and Steve looked at each other to see if the other had any idea.

"Is she a royal? If she goes by "Lady" then..." Thor wondered aloud.

The team bust out in laughter, thinking of a Lady Gaga as a noblewoman.

"No, no, no, no, noooooo." Natasha replied in between hysterical laughter.

The night continued like this. Natasha, Clint, Tony, or Bruce asking a question followed by a hilarious answer by Steve or Thor. The time passed quickly until Bruce looked down at his watch.

"Oh, damn, guys. It's midnight."

"How'd that happen? I have an early meeting with Fury tomorrow. I gotta hit the hay."

"You mean the hay in your nest, Birdie?" Tony mocked Clint.

Clint just gave Tony a death glare (that he was so incredibly good at) and stood up.

"Night, guys." He started to walk off when Tony spoke again.

"Oh, no goodnights kiss for your girlfriend over here?" He joked, jabbing a thumb over towards Natasha.

Clint just rolled his eyes and started to walk away, winking at Tasha when everyone else turned around.

"Gosh, we must all be getting old. It's only midnight and we're all tired." Bruce commented, seeing the yawning faces around him. "'Night, guys. I'm gonna head off to bed too."

"Night." The team replied.

"Well, you guys ready for bed too?" Natasha asked.

"Yeah, I guess." Steve replied, not really tired at all. He rarely slept anymore. Too many nightmares.

Thor mumbled something inaudible and stalked off.

"You all are party poopers. I'm not tired at all, but I'll just head to the shop. I've got some adjustments to the suit I've been wanting to try out. See ya." Tony stated and tottered off, slightly buzzed from the amount of alcohol he had consumed throughout the evening.

"Well, goodnight, ma'am. Sleep tight." Steve said, giving a nod towards Natasha.

"'Night." Natasha replied giving a small, warm smile back to Steve. She rarely showed that side of her (she wasn't just a cold-hearted bitch like some people seemed to think), but she liked Steve. He was so...pure. So innocent. And so very kind. Genuinely.

After Steve walked off headed towards the gym, Natasha cleaned up the cards the rest of the team had left out. Tony had left a few beers and a bottle of rum out on the side table, so she cleared those up too. Once everything was tidy once more, she didn't feel tired anymore. She meandered around the large area, taking in the sheer extravagance of everything in Tony's place. She walked to the large windows in the back of the living room and saw the handle to the balcony. Turning the handle and stepping outside, the cool rush of breeze gave her goosebumps. She pulled her sweater cardigan a bit tighter around her torso. Immediately the air was filled with sounds of cars driving and people talking on the streets below. Leaning on the rail, she closed her eyes and took in the breeze brushing past her body and through her hair, the sounds filling the air, and the smell of fresh air you could only find this high up on Stark Tower. Thoughts filled her head, swishing through rapidly. Memories. She snapped her eyes back open, bringing her back to reality. Hearing footsteps behind her, she whipped around.

"Oh, Clint. It's just you." He must not have been able to fall asleep. He had insomnia a lot. They all did. Nightmares and flashbacks keep a mind busy at night.

"I never can sneak up on you... Did you really think anyone would be out to get you all the way up here, at this time of night?"

"No, it's nothing." Natasha answered, turning around and leaning back on the rail. "I was just... having some bad flashbacks again and it, well, it unnerved me a bit."

"You're the toughest person I've ever met. You? Unnerved? Never." He spoke with slight sarcasm to his voice, but also a hidden understanding. He knew just as well as her that everyone is human- even if you're trained to hide it well. He had this urge to comfort her, to protect her. He overcame the bit of worry that she would turn down his try to comfort her- that she would shut him off- and he walked over. He wrapped his arms around her torso and leaned into her back, bringing his head forward to rest beside hers on her shoulder. She was trembling.

Natasha was startled by his comforting embrace- they were kind of "a thing," but there was nothing ever like... this. They were master assassins. They didn't have time to, oh, _"cuddle"_. She shut off the nagging voices in her head.

_"You're strong. You don't need to be comforted. Don't let him see your weakness. Don't let a man do this to you. It only makes you weaker." _

Letting herself become vulnerable, she leaned back into him, nestling her head into his neck and wrapping her arms on top of his.

They stood there like that for awhile. Just shutting off the world. Not thinking about what anyone would think of them, the mass of murders they had committed, the terrible memories floating inside their minds, nothing. Just taking in..._them_.

Finally, when they both started nodding off from pure exhaustion (just because they weren't doing anything with the Avengers at the moment didn't mean they weren't still being sent on missions constantly. They were two of the finest, you know.), they broke apart and headed back to their bedrooms hand-in-hand.

"Goodnight, Tasha." Clint said, giving Natasha a small kiss on the forehead. It gave her butterflies.

"'Night, Clint." She said starting to turn away. "Oh," she quickly said, turning back around.

Clint turned back, giving her a questioning look.

"Um, thanks." She was having problems forming full sentences. "For...that." She didn't know how to do these things, it just felt like she should thank him in some way.

"'Course, Tash. Always." He answered, giving a small, happy smile (the one you only saw when he was with Natasha). He turned around and disappeared into the darkness of the hallway.

Natasha walked into her room only partly conscious, and flopped onto the bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

She didn't have any nightmares that night.


End file.
